Chapter Four
The two boys made their way to the back of the shop. Reaching the third door on the right, they stopped and turned, walking into the room.
"Steve's gonna keep me company while you work," Bucky informed Clint, who was currently putting together the tattoo gun.
"Okay, that's cool," He replied quietly, continuing to get everything ready.
Bucky made his way across the room and plopped down in the black chair. Staying in a sat up position, the brunet chucked off his hoodie before gripping the hem of his shirt and lifting it up over his head. Once it was off Bucky tossed the articles of clothing in a pile next to the seat and leaned back, getting comfortable.
Steve, who's head had been down since the other took off his hoodie, lifted his gaze to take a quick glance. The second his eyes landed on Bucky he froze in place, eyes wide.
Steve had noticed Bucky had some muscle to him instantly, but seeing how well built he actually was-
The blonde let his eyes scan over all the sharp edges and overall nice build of his inked up torso. His gaze suddenly came to a hault, however, when he realized the fucking metal arm Bucky had.
Steve didn't even realize the quiet 'holy shit' he muttered until Bucky glanced over at him, noticing where he was looking.
Oh, the look of discomfort that suddenly grew on his face killed Steve inside. The tenseness now evident in his shoudlers causing the blonde's lips to turn into a frown.
Around half an hour into the tattoo process what awkward tension that had been created drifted away, all three boys joking around as Clint worked carefully and precisely on his task.
Steve had even pulled out his sketchbook at some point and began to draw whatever little things came to mind, keeping up with the chatter from the other two
He was in the middle of shading the roses he had sketched around a skull when his attention was pulled away from the page, head snapping up to look at the others.
"Alright, let me get the cleaning solution and wrap," the older said as he stood up, giving his arms a quick stretch as he padded off to go rumage around in one of the cabinets.
"Whatcha drawing there, Stevie?"
The blonde's eyes snapped over to look at Bucky.
"'Stevie'?" He said, brow raised as a quiet chuckle left his mouth.
"Yep, Stevie, now lemme see the book," Bucky replied, making a grabby hand at Steve like a child.
The blond sat there silent for a moment, thinking it over.
He never really showed people his drawings- well aside from Clint, but those were for work purposes. Bucky, someone he barely knew, was asking to see whatever little doodles he had done to pass time.
Staring directly at Bucky completely straight faced, Steve closed the book and slowly slid it into his bag as he finally spoke, "What book? I ain't got a book."
The brunet's face formed into a scowl, clearly not amused. Steve's face was the complete opposite, his growing into cheeky smile as he looked at the brunet.
"Steve doesn't really show off his drawings, don't take it personal," Clint informed as he sat back with the cleaning solution.
He then began gently cleaning the freshly inked area of Bucky's chest, careful not to put too much pressure as the skin was quite sensitive now. After that was finished, Clint slowly wrapped some plastic film around Bucky's torso to keep the area clean. Steve was honestly shocked he didn't see the brunet even flinch throughout this process, not even any little noises of discomfort were heard. It looked painful in his opinion, the way his broad chest was a vibrant red with little prickles of blood scattered about, some areas even starting to gain a faint, purple hue; most likely some bruising beginning to form.
When that was done, Bucky grabbed his shirt and slid it back on, which Steve was both grateful and annoyed about. Yeah, this is a guy he barely knew, but damnit he looked good and Steve wasn't going to just not appreciate it. At least Bucky left the hoodie off, giving Steve the ability to examine the metal limb on his left.
When everything was finished and the tattoo job was payed for, the two said a quick goodbye to their friend before making their way out the shop.
"So, you want me to take you home now or..?" Bucky questioned as they walked over to his parked motorbike.
"Or?" Steve said, beckoning for him to continue.
"Well," the brunet started, "I'm kinda hungry so if you want to we could go grab something to eat?" The ending came out as more of a question rather than an answer, voice a bit quieter than before, even sounding a bit nervous.
Steve let the idea bounce around his mind for a moment before answering, "Yeah, food sounds good. Where d'ya wanna go?"
"There's a diner not too far from here, that work?" Bucky questioned as he moved a hand to dig out the key from his pocket.
The smaller gave a silent nod, smile on his lips.
With that settled the two hopped on Bucky's bike and headed off.
Steve was considerate of the other's still sensitive skin and kept his grip lighter than before. Even moved his arms a little lower than before, the thin limbs now loosely wrapped around Bucky's stomach.
They reached the diner and parked before making their way inside.
Bucky, mainly out pure of habit, opened and held the door open for Steve.
"Aw, such a gent," The blonde cooed teasingly as he walked inside, causing Bucky to roll his eyes as he let out a snort of laughter, a grin forming on his lips.
"Something wrong with that?" He asked as they strolled over and sat at the set of black barstools placed at the counter.
Giving a small shrug, Steve replied, "No, you just don't look like the 'gentleman' type."
"Oh? And why's that?" He raised a curious brow at the blonde.
"Seriously? You look like you'd break my neck, not hold a door for me." Steve responded, looking the other up and down as he did. The tiny glint of admiration in his eyes contrasting quite a bit from his answer.
The brunet let out a laugh at his reply, nose scrunching slightly as he did.
Okay, a guy who looks like that shouldn't have such a cute laugh- Steve thought, watching the other as his laughter died down.
"Yeah, guess I don't look like the sweetest guy."
What was supposed to be a quick snack soon turned into a two hour long lunch. The two had started talking and just lost track of time, though neither decided to point out how long it'd been, merely just enjoyed the company of the other.
This little lunch trip was actually quite nice, it gave them time to learn more about each other.
Steve ended up learning that Bucky's father had actually been in the military.
"He was part of the 'Howling Commandos'" Bucky told him. And it instantly clicked in Steve's mind that the tattoo was like a tribute to his father.
That fact hit Steve like a train, the realization of it filling him with a sense of honor at getting the opportunity to help create something so sentimental.
"Uhm, if you don't mind me asking," Steve began, "how did he pass?"
Casting his gaze down at the table, Bucky huffed out an awkward sounding laugh.
Steve cringed at the noise, immediately regretting he asked such a thing. God, what was he thinking?! He just met the guy and he's already asking about a dead parent.
"Y-you don't have to answer or anything y'know, I was- I was just kinda curious and-"
"Steve," Bucky said cutting off his rambling, "it's fine, seriously. I've just never really talked about him, is all." He informed the blonde, lips curling into a small smie.
Steve just gave a small nod accompanied by a sheepish smile, slightly embarrassed over the start of his rambling.
Bucky smiled once more before his gaze whipped back to the countertop, fingers tapping on the surface.
"He shot himself," the brunet muttered keeping his voice low, the reassuring smile he gave Steve turning into a pained one as he spoke, "guess the pressure of it all got to him or something..."
"I...I'm so sorry about that." Steve responded in a soft tone, hand moving to gently sit atop Bucky's, stopping it from the aggressive tapping it had began.
Bucky lifted his head to see the blonde looking at him obviously shocked, not really knowing what to say.
Bucky cringed at the realization of how blunt he was about such a thing. He usually sugarcoated things, but something as serious as this was excluded from that.
Niether spoke for a moment, silence filling the space between them, Steve still gripping the brunet's flesh hand.
"Sorry, I know how hard that can be to deal with," Steve finally spoke up, voice slightly hushed.
"My Pa passed when he served, too," the blonde added when Bucky's head tilted up, showing him a perplexed look.
His look of confusion quickly turned to one of something Steve couldn't quite place.
"Well, aren't we just a pair," the older muttered with dry laugh, leaning against the counter.
After that, they quickly left the topic of family; not like either had much to say anyhow. Instead, they moved to topics of interests.
Steve had learned that Bucky was very into mechanics, science, something he would've never guessed from looking at the man. The brunet also added in that he was quite good at photography.
Bucky on the other hand learned that, aside from art, Steve was very into cooking and reading, especially anything historical.
Eventually, the two had to bring their conversation to an end.
Bucky was starting to get fidgety, anxious from being out around people for so long, and Steve needed to head home and do schoolwork.
Oh, that's another thing Bucky had learned about the blonde; he was in college as a visual arts major.
Pulling out some cash, Bucky paid for their lunch and the two headed out. Steve tried to argue about at least halfing their bill, but the brunet wouldn't listen, simply telling Steve to hush and accept he was paying. It was his idea to got eat anyways.
They walked out the diner, Steve grumbling to himself the entire way to Bucky's motorbike.
The drive back to the apartmsnt complex was fast, barely taking any time with the way Bucky sped down the road. Steve had yelled at the brunet every time he went over the limit, saying it was against the law. Bucky just laughed, grinning to himself as he continued driving.
Reaching the building, Bucky parked in his usual spot. They got off and made their way inside and began walking up the endless rows of steps.
Both boys were quite surprised to find out they lived on the same floor.
They had never even seen the other, but then again Bucky rarely left his apartment. Steve didn't really leave much either; he was always sick, couldn't really go anywhere when you're coughing up your lungs and barely able to stand.
They reached Steve's apartment and said a quick bye. Bucky then began walking down the hall towards his own, but stopped and made a beeline back to the other.
"Hey, so uh," he started, nervously scratching his neck as he spoke,"I was wondering if maybe I could get your number? Y'know so like if you need a ride anywhere again..."
Steve unlocked his door, putting the key back in his pocket before turning to the brunet, a tiny grin forming.
"Yeah, that's fine." He answered, pulling out his phone and placing it in Bucky's gloved hand.
He turned the phone in his grip, marveling at the American flag case it was in. Turning it back around, the taller quickly put in his number and name, only using his flesh hand to type, before handing the device back over to Steve.
Bucky then pulled out his own phone, unlocking it and passing it to the blonde. He took the dark grey device in his small hands, Bucky admiring them as he typed. Intrigued at how small they were, how thin and pale they looked; almost like a woman's.
Steve finished typing and handed Bucky's phone back, the brunet shoving it into his pocket. They said one more goodbye before Bucky continued off to his own apartment.